North Not Opposed to Restructuring, Say Tambuwal, Abdullahi

By John Shiklam in Kaduna

Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, on Wednesday dismissed insinuations that the north is opposed to restructuring because it benefits most from the current state of things. Tambuwal and Abdullahi spoke at a two-day conference on “The north and future of the Nigerian federation”, organised by the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) in Kaduna.

The Sokoto governor, who was the chairman of the occasion, in his remarks, said the north wants restructuring as much as any section of the country, stressing however that as a people, the region will not jump into the bandwagon of agitations without ensuring that any action taken must be inclusive with due respect to procedures and processes that will sustain the outcome.

“Therefore, the idea that the north is against restructuring because it benefits most from the current state of things is circumscribed and patently false. The fact that some people continue to parrot such a lie only help to give credence to the flawed argument.

“Let us be clear: the north wants restructuring as much as anyone else. However, as a people we do not easily jump unto the bandwagon because we are always there for the long haul. We believe that any decision we take must be inclusive, and respect procedures and processes so that the outcome is sustainable.

“I think we should first, as a country, agree on a mutual definition of the term restructuring. In my view, if restructuring means taking stock of our arrangement to ensure that no state takes a disproportionate amount of the resources, or most of the available space in the education or job sector, or subjugate the others’ culture or religion, or lords it over the other so that the number of the poor and uneducated whose future is circumscribed by their circumstance is shared proportionately, then we are game” Tambuwal said.

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